Red Bull Sailing Team’s Roman Hagara happy to grab early lead: 2012 Extreme Sailing Series Act 2
Austria’s Red Bull Sailing Team displayed excellent sailing skills at Qingdao, China on the opening day of the 2012 Extreme Sailing Series Act 2 and was able to grab the leading podium spot of the fleet with 47 points after six scheduled races.
The Red Bull Sailing Team skipper, Roman Hagara believes that they did not have a strong start but team members showed great determination and hit the leading position.
Red Bull Sailing Team crew comprising of Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Graeme Spence and Pierre Le Clainche handled the boat under fluctuating wind conditions well and sailed it to the finish line to occupy the winning spot. They finished
on higher ranks in a couple of races during the first day proceedings to earn 47 points in the end and brought the team in leading state.
There were thousands of sailing fans gathered around the venue despite the fact that the regatta was not open to the public. They gathered there to support their favourites especially local sailing China Team led by Phil Robertson. However, the home favourite
Chinese team, which was making its debut, did not sail according to the standards and tumbled down at number eight position with 18 points.
The regatta leaders at the conclusion of the first day, Red Bull Sailing Team, were quite happy after they had an advantageous lead. Hagara thought that they had a slow start but the team members did not lose their hopes and continued performing well which
ended up in a better result for them. He believes the lead will play a vital role in the upcoming days of the regatta.
Overall standings at the end of Day 1:
1. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Graeme Spence, Pierre Le Clainche 47 points
2. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Hashim Al Rashdi, Rachel Williamson 44 points
3rd GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams, Mark Ivey, Mark Bulkeley, Adam Piggot, Andrew Walsh 37 points
4. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec, Jean-Christophe Mourniac, Hervé Cunningham, Bernard Labro, Romain Petit 32 points
5. Oman Air (OMA) Morgan Larson, Will Howden, Charlie Ogletree, Nasser Al Mashari, Max Bulger 28 points
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